The
Burnet FlagBurnet Flag used from December 1836 to January 1839 as the
national flag until it was replaced by the Lone Star Flag, and as the
war flag from January 25, 1839 to December 29, 1845[1]

Naval ensign of the
TexasTexas Navy from 1836–1839 until it was replaced
by the Lone Star Flag[1]

The Lone Star Flag became the national flag on January 25, 1839
(identical to modern state flag)[1]

The Republic of
TexasTexas (Spanish: República de Tejas) was an
independent sovereign country in
North AmericaNorth America that existed from March
2, 1836, to February 19, 1846. It was bordered by
MexicoMexico to the west
and southwest, the Gulf of
MexicoMexico to the southeast, the two U.S.
states of
LouisianaLouisiana and
ArkansasArkansas to the east and northeast, and United
States territories encompassing parts of the current U.S. states of
Oklahoma, Kansas, Colorado, Wyoming, and New
MexicoMexico to the north and
west. The citizens of the republic were known as Texians.
The Mexican province of Tejas (in English history books usually
referred to as Mexican Texas) declared its independence from Mexico
during the
TexasTexas Revolution in 1836. The
TexasTexas war of independence
ended on April 21, 1836, but
MexicoMexico refused to recognize the
independence of the Republic of Texas, and intermittent conflicts
between the two states continued into the 1840s. The United States
recognized the Republic of
TexasTexas in March 1837 but declined to annex
the territory.[2]
The Republic-claimed borders were based upon the Treaties of Velasco
between the newly created
TexasTexas Republic and Antonio López de Santa
Anna of Mexico. The eastern boundary had been defined by the
Adams–Onís TreatyAdams–Onís Treaty of 1819 between the
United StatesUnited States and Spain,
which recognised the Sabine River as the eastern boundary of Spanish
TexasTexas and western boundary of the Missouri Territory. Under the
Adams–Onís TreatyAdams–Onís Treaty of 1819 the
United StatesUnited States had renounced its claim
to Spanish land to the east of the
Rocky MountainsRocky Mountains and to the north of
the
Rio GrandeRio Grande which it claimed to have acquired as part of the
LouisianaLouisiana Purchase of 1803.
The republic's southern and western boundary with
MexicoMexico continued to
be disputed throughout the republic's existence.
TexasTexas claimed the Rio
Grande as its southern boundary, while
MexicoMexico insisted that the Nueces
River was the boundary.
TexasTexas was annexed by the
United StatesUnited States on
December 29, 1845 and was admitted to the Union as the 28th state on
that day, with the transfer of power from the Republic to the new
state of
TexasTexas formally taking place on February 19, 1846. However,
the
United StatesUnited States again inherited the southern and western border
dispute with Mexico, which became a trigger for the Mexican–American
War (1846–1848).

History[edit]
TexasTexas prior to independence[edit]
See also: Spanish
TexasTexas and Mexican Texas
TexasTexas had been one of the
Provincias InternasProvincias Internas of New Spain, a region
known historiographically as Spanish Texas. Though claimed by Spain,
it was not formally colonized by them until competing French interests
at Fort St. Louis encouraged
SpainSpain to establish permanent settlements
in the area.[3] Sporadic missionary incursions occurred into the area
during the period from the 1690s–1710s, before the establishment of
San AntonioSan Antonio as a permanent civilian settlement.[4] Owing to the area's
high Native American populations and its remoteness from the
population centers of New Spain,
TexasTexas remained largely unsettled by
Europeans, although
SpainSpain maintained a small military presence to
protect Christian missionaries working among Native American tribes,
and to act as a buffer against the French in
LouisianaLouisiana and British
North America. In 1762,
FranceFrance ceded to
SpainSpain most of its claims to
the interior of North America, including its claim to Texas, as well
as the vast interior that became Spanish Louisiana.[5] During the
years 1799 to 1803, the height of the Napoleonic Empire, Spain
returned
LouisianaLouisiana back to France, which promptly sold the territory
to the United States. The status of
TexasTexas during these transfers was
unclear and was not resolved until 1819, when the Adams–Onís Treaty
ceded
Spanish FloridaSpanish Florida to the United States, and established a clear
boundary between
TexasTexas and Louisiana.[6]
Starting in 1810, the territories of New
SpainSpain north of the Isthmus of
Panama (including Texas) sought independence in the Mexican War of
Independence. Many Americans fought on the side of
MexicoMexico against
SpainSpain in filibustering expeditions. One of these, the
Gutiérrez–Magee ExpeditionGutiérrez–Magee Expedition (also known as the Republican Army of
the North) consisted of a group of about 130 Americans under the
leadership of Bernardo Gutiérrez de Lara. Gutierrez de Lara initiated
Mexico's secession from
SpainSpain with efforts contributed by Magee.
Bolstered by new recruits, and led by
Samuel Kemper (who succeeded
Magee after his death in battle in 1813), the expedition gained a
series of victories against soldiers led by the Spanish governor,
Manuel María de Salcedo. Their victory at the Battle of Rosillo Creek
convinced Salcedo to surrender on April 1, 1813; he was executed two
days later. On April 6, 1813, the victorious Republican Army of the
North drafted a constitution and declared the independent Republic of
Texas, with Gutiérrez as its president.[7] Soon disillusioned with
the Mexican leadership, the Americans under Kemper returned to the
United States. The ephemeral Republic of
TexasTexas came to an end
following the August 18, 1813 Battle of Medina, where the Spanish Army
crushed the Republican Army of the North. The harsh reprisals against
the
TexasTexas rebels created a deep distrust of the Royal Spanish
authorities, and veterans of the
Battle of MedinaBattle of Medina would later become
leaders of the
TexasTexas Revolution and signatories of the Texas
Declaration of Independence from
MexicoMexico some 20 years later.
Along with the rest of Mexico,
TexasTexas gained its independence from
SpainSpain in 1821 following the Treaty of Córdoba, and the new Mexican
state was organized under the Plan of Iguala, which created
MexicoMexico as
a constitutional monarchy under its first Emperor Agustín de
Iturbide. During the transition from a Spanish territory to part of
the independent country of Mexico, Stephen F.
AustinAustin led a group of
American settlers known as the Old Three Hundred, who negotiated the
right to settle in
TexasTexas with the Spanish Royal governor of the
territory. Since Mexican independence had been ratified by Spain
shortly thereafter,
AustinAustin would later travel to
MexicoMexico City to secure
the support of the new country for his right to settle.[8] The
establishment of
Mexican TexasMexican Texas coincided with the Austin-led
settlement, leading to animosity between Mexican authorities and
ongoing American settlement of Texas. The
First Mexican EmpireFirst Mexican Empire was
short lived, being replaced by a republican form of government in
1823. Following Austin's lead, additional groups of settlers, known as
Empresarios, continued to colonize
Mexican TexasMexican Texas from the United
States. In 1830, Mexican President
Anastasio BustamanteAnastasio Bustamante outlawed
American immigration to Texas, following several conflicts with the
Empresarios over the status of slavery in the region.[9] Angered at
the interference of the Mexican government, the Empresarios held the
Convention of 1832, which is considered the first formal step in what
would later become the
TexasTexas Revolution.
On the eve of war, the American settlers in the area outnumbered
Mexicans by a considerable margin.[10] Following a series of minor
skirmishes between Mexican authorities and the settlers, the Mexican
government, fearing open rebellion of their Anglo subjects, began to
step up military presence in
TexasTexas throughout 1834 and early 1835.
Mexican President
Antonio López de Santa AnnaAntonio López de Santa Anna revoked the 1824
Constitution of
MexicoMexico and began to consolidate power in the central
government under his own leadership. The
Texian leadership under
AustinAustin began to organize its own military, and hostilities broke out
on October 2, 1835 at the Battle of Gonzales, the first engagement of
the
TexasTexas Revolution.[11] In November, 1835 a provisional government
known as the Consultation was established to oppose the Santa Anna
regime (but stopped short of declaring independence from Mexico). On
March 1, 1836 the
Convention of 1836Convention of 1836 came to order, and the next day
declared independence from Mexico, establishing the Republic of
Texas.[12]
Independent republic[edit]
Politics[edit]

Map of the Republic of
TexasTexas and the Adjacent Territories by C.F.
Cheffins, 1841

The second
Congress of the Republic of TexasCongress of the Republic of Texas convened in October 1836
at Columbia (now West Columbia). Stephen F. Austin, known as the
Father of Texas, died December 27, 1836, after serving two months as
Secretary of State for the new Republic.
In 1836, five sites served as temporary capitals of Texas
(Washington-on-the-Brazos, Harrisburg, Galveston, Velasco and
Columbia), before President Sam
HoustonHouston moved the capital to Houston
in 1837. The next president, Mirabeau B. Lamar, moved the capital to
the new town of
AustinAustin in 1839.
The first flag of the republic was the "Burnet Flag" (a single gold
star on an azure field), followed in 1839 by official adoption of the
Lone Star Flag.
Internal politics of the Republic centred on two factions. The
nationalist faction, led by Lamar, advocated the continued
independence of Texas, the expulsion of the Native Americans
(Indians), and the expansion of
TexasTexas to the Pacific Ocean. Their
opponents, led by Houston, advocated the annexation of
TexasTexas to the
United StatesUnited States and peaceful coexistence with the Indians, when
possible. The
TexasTexas Congress even passed a resolution over Houston's
veto claiming the Californias for Texas.[13] The 1844 presidential
election split the electorate dramatically, with the newer western
regions of the Republic preferring the nationalist candidate Edward
Burleson, while the cotton country, particularly east of the Trinity
River, went for Anson Jones.[14]
Armed conflict[edit]
The
ComancheComanche Indians furnished the main Indian opposition to the Texas
Republic, manifested in multiple raids on settlements, capture and
rape of female pioneers, torture killings, and trafficking in captive
slaves.[15] In the late 1830s, Sam
HoustonHouston negotiated a peace between
TexasTexas and the Comanches. Lamar replaced
HoustonHouston as president in 1838
and reversed the Indian policies. He returned to war with the
Comanches and invaded
ComancheriaComancheria itself. In retaliation, the
Comanches attacked
TexasTexas in a series of raids. After peace talks in
1840 ended with the massacre of 34
ComancheComanche leaders in San Antonio,
the Comanches launched a major attack deep into Texas, known as the
Great Raid of 1840. Under command of Potsanaquahip (Buffalo Hump), 500
to 700
ComancheComanche cavalry warriors swept down the Guadalupe River
valley, killing and plundering all the way to the shore of the Gulf of
Mexico, where they sacked the towns of Victoria and Linnville. Houston
became president again in 1841 and, with both
Texians and Comanches
exhausted by war, a new peace was established.[16]
Although
TexasTexas achieved self-government,
MexicoMexico refused to recognize
its independence.[17] On March 5, 1842, a Mexican force of over 500
men, led by Ráfael Vásquez, invaded
TexasTexas for the first time since
the revolution. They soon headed back to the
Rio GrandeRio Grande after briefly
occupying San Antonio. About 1,400 Mexican troops, led by the French
mercenary general Adrián Woll, launched a second attack and captured
San AntonioSan Antonio on September 11, 1842. A
TexasTexas militia retaliated at the
Battle of Salado Creek while simultaneously, a mile and a half away,
Mexican soldiers massacred a militia of fifty-three
TexasTexas volunteers
who had surrendered after a skirmish.[18][19] That night, the Mexican
Army retreated from the city of
San AntonioSan Antonio back to Mexico.
Mexico's attacks on
TexasTexas intensified conflicts between political
factions, including an incident known as the
TexasTexas Archive War. To
"protect" the
TexasTexas national archives, President Sam
HoustonHouston ordered
them removed from Austin. The archives were eventually returned to
Austin, albeit at gunpoint. The
TexasTexas Congress admonished
HoustonHouston for
the incident, and this episode in
TexasTexas history would solidify Austin
as Texas's seat of government for the Republic and the future
state.[20]
There were also domestic disturbances. The Regulator–Moderator War
involved a land feud in Harrison and Shelby Counties in East Texas
from 1839 to 1844. The feud eventually involved Nacogdoches, San
Augustine, and other East
TexasTexas counties. Harrison County Sheriff John
J. Kennedy and county judge Joseph U. Fields helped end the conflict,
siding with the law-and-order party. Sam
HoustonHouston ordered 500 militia
to help end the feud.
Government[edit]

After gaining their independence, the
TexasTexas voters had elected a
Congress of 14 senators and 29 representatives in September 1836. The
Constitution allowed the first president to serve for two years and
subsequent presidents for 3 years. In order to hold an office or vote,
a person needed to be a citizen of the Republic.[21]
However, it is important to note that citizenship was not granted to
all previous inhabitants of Texas, and not all of them could even live
legally within the limits of the Republic without the consent of
Congress. In this regard, the Constitution of the Republic of Texas
(1836) established major differences according to the ethnicity of
each individual. Section 10 of the General Provisions of the
constitution stated that all persons who were residing in
TexasTexas on the
day of the Declaration of Independence were to be considered citizens
of the Republic, excepting "Africans, the descendants of Africans, and
Indians".[22] For new white immigrants, section 6 established that, in
order to become citizens, they needed to live in the Republic for at
least six months and take an oath. While regarding the black
population, section 9 established that black persons who were brought
to
TexasTexas as slaves were to remain slaves, and that not even their
owner could emancipate them without the consent of Congress, while the
Congress itself was not allowed to make laws affecting the slave trade
or to declare emancipation. Section 9 also established that: "No free
person of African descent, either in whole or in part, shall be
permitted to reside permanently in the Republic, without the consent
of Congress".[23]
The first
Congress of the Republic of TexasCongress of the Republic of Texas convened in October 1836
at Columbia (now West Columbia). Stephen F. Austin, often referred to
as the "Father of Texas," died on December 27, 1836, after serving
just two months as the republic's secretary of state. Due mainly to
the ongoing war for independence, five sites served as temporary
capitals of
TexasTexas in 1836: (Washington-on-the-Brazos, Harrisburg,
Galveston, Velasco and Columbia). The capital was moved to the new
city of
HoustonHouston in 1837.
In 1839, a small pioneer settlement situated on the
ColoradoColorado River in
central
TexasTexas was chosen as the republic's seventh and final capital.
Incorporated under the name Waterloo, the town was renamed Austin
shortly thereafter in honor of Stephen F. Austin.
The court system inaugurated by Congress included a Supreme Court
consisting of a chief justice appointed by the president and four
associate justices, elected by a joint ballot of both houses of
Congress for four-year terms and eligible for re-election. The
associates also presided over four judicial districts. Houston
nominated
James CollinsworthJames Collinsworth to be the first chief justice. The
county-court system consisted of a chief justice and two associates,
chosen by a majority of the justices of the peace in the county. Each
county was also to have a sheriff, a coroner, justices of the peace,
and constables to serve two-year terms. Congress formed 23 counties,
whose boundaries generally coincided with the existing municipalities.
In 1839,
TexasTexas became the first nation in the world to enact a
homestead exemption under which a person's primary residence could not
be seized by creditors.
Boundaries[edit]

The Centralist Republic with the separatist movements generated by the
dissolution of the Federal Republic.
Territory proclaimed its independence
Territory claimed by the Republic of Texas
Territory claimed by the Republic of the Rio Grande
Rebellions

The Texan leaders at first intended to extend their national
boundaries to the Pacific Ocean, but ultimately decided to claim the
Rio GrandeRio Grande as boundary, including much of New Mexico, which the
Republic never controlled. They also hoped, after peace was made with
Mexico, to run a railroad to the
Gulf of CaliforniaGulf of California to give "access to
the East Indian, Peruvian and Chilean trade."[24] When negotiating for
the possibility of annexation to the US in late 1836, the Texan
government instructed its minister Wharton in Washington that if the
boundary were an issue,
TexasTexas was willing to settle for a boundary at
the watershed between the
Nueces RiverNueces River and Rio Grande, and leave out
New Mexico.[25] In 1840 the first and only census of the Republic of
TexasTexas was taken, recording a population of about 70,000 people. San
Antonio and
HoustonHouston were recorded as the largest and second largest
cities respectively.[citation needed]
Diplomatic relations[edit]
Main article: Foreign relations of the Republic of Texas

The Hôtel Bataille de Francès (now Hôtel de Vendôme), place
Vendôme in Paris, housed the Embassy of the Republic of Texas

On March 3, 1837, US President
Andrew JacksonAndrew Jackson appointed Alcée La
Branche American chargé d'affaires to the Republic of Texas, thus
officially recognizing
TexasTexas as an independent republic.[26] France
granted official recognition of
TexasTexas on September 25, 1839,
appointing Alphonse Dubois de Saligny to serve as chargé d'affaires.
The
French LegationFrench Legation was built in 1841, and still stands in
AustinAustin as
the oldest frame structure in the city.[27] Conversely, the Republic
of
TexasTexas embassy in Paris was located in what is now the Hôtel de
Vendôme, adjacent to the
Place VendômePlace Vendôme in Paris's 2e
arrondissement.[28]
The Republic also received diplomatic recognition from Belgium, the
Netherlands, and the Republic of Yucatán. The United Kingdom never
granted official recognition of
TexasTexas due to its own friendly
relations with Mexico, but admitted Texan goods into British ports on
their own terms. In London, immediately opposite the gates to St.
James's Palace, Sam Houston's original Embassy of the Republic of
TexasTexas to the
Court of St. James'sCourt of St. James's is now a hat shop, but is clearly
marked with a large plaque and a nearby restaurant is called Texas
Embassy.[29] A plaque on the exterior of 3 St. James's Street in
LondonLondon notes the upper floors of the building (which have housed the
noted wine merchant
Berry Brothers and RuddBerry Brothers and Rudd since 1698) housed the
TexasTexas Legation.
Presidents and vice presidents[edit]
Main article: President of the Republic of Texas

Presidents and Vice Presidents of the Republic of Texas

№
Portrait
President
Term of Office
Party
Term
Previous Office
Vice President

Statehood[edit]
Main article:
TexasTexas annexation
On February 28, 1845, the US Congress passed a bill that would
authorize the
United StatesUnited States to annex the Republic of Texas. On March
1, US President
John TylerJohn Tyler signed the bill. The legislation set the
date for annexation for December 29 of the same year. Faced with
imminent American annexation of Texas,
Charles ElliotCharles Elliot and Alphonse de
Saligny, the British and French ministers to Texas, were dispatched to
MexicoMexico City by their governments. Meeting with Mexico's foreign
secretary, they signed a "Diplomatic Act" in which
MexicoMexico offered to
recognize an independent
TexasTexas with boundaries that would be
determined with French and British mediation.
TexasTexas President Anson
Jones forwarded both offers to a specially elected convention meeting
at Austin, and the American proposal was accepted with only one
dissenting vote. The Mexican proposal was never put to a vote.
Following the previous decree of President Jones, the proposal was
then put to a vote throughout the republic.

On October 13, 1845, a large majority of voters in the republic
approved both the American offer and the proposed constitution that
specifically endorsed slavery and emigrants bringing slaves to
Texas.[30] This constitution was later accepted by the US Congress,
making
TexasTexas a US state on the same day annexation took effect,
December 29, 1845 (therefore bypassing a territorial phase).[31] One
of the motivations for annexation was the huge debts which the
Republic of
TexasTexas government had incurred. As part of the Compromise
of 1850, in return for $10,000,000 in Federal bonds,
TexasTexas dropped
claims to territory which included parts of present-day Colorado,
Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico, and Wyoming.
The resolution did include two unique provisions: First, it said up to
four additional states could be created from Texas' territory with the
consent of the State of
TexasTexas (and that new states north of the
Missouri Compromise LineMissouri Compromise Line would be free states). Though the resolution
did not make exceptions to the constitution,[32] the U.S. Constitution
requires Congressional consent neither to the creation of new states
to be ex post to applications nor to expire. To illustrate the
strength of the latter caveat, the 27th Amendment was submitted to the
states in 1789, yet was not ratified until 1992; thus, the expressed
consent of Congress, via this resolution, to the creation of new
states would not expire nor require renewal. Second,
TexasTexas did not
have to surrender its public lands to the federal government. While
TexasTexas did cede all territory outside of its current area to the
federal government in 1850, it did not cede any public lands within
its current boundaries. Consequently, the lands in
TexasTexas owned by the
federal government are those which were subsequently purchased by it.
This also means the state government has control over oil reserves
which were later used to fund the state's public university system
through the Permanent University Fund.[33] In addition, the state's
control over offshore oil reserves in
TexasTexas runs out to 3 nautical
leagues (9 nautical miles, 10.357 statute miles, 16.668 km)
rather than three nautical miles (3.45 statute miles, 5.56 km) as
with other states.[34][35]
See also[edit]

Huson, Hobart (1974), Captain Phillip Dimmitt's Commandancy of Goliad,
1835–1836: An Episode of the Mexican Federalist War in Texas,
Usually Referred to as the Texan Revolution, Austin, TX: Von
Boeckmann-Jones Co
Hämäläinen, Pekka (2008), The
ComancheComanche Empire, Yale University
Press, ISBN 978-0-300-12654-9
Lack, Paul D. (1992), The
TexasTexas Revolutionary Experience: A Political
and Social History 1835–1836,
TexasTexas A&M University Press,
ISBN 0-89096-497-1
Fehrenbach, T. R. (2000), Lone Star: a history of
TexasTexas and the
Texans, Da Capo Press, ISBN 978-0-306-80942-2
Republic of
TexasTexas Historical Resources
Republic of
TexasTexas from the Handbook of
TexasTexas Online
Hosted by
PortalPortal to
TexasTexas History:

Texas: the Rise, Progress, and Prospects of the Republic of Texas,
Vol. 1, by William Kennedy, published 1841
Texas: the Rise, Progress, and Prospects of the Republic of Texas,
Vol. 2, published 1841
Laws of the Republic, 1836–1838 from Gammel's Laws of Texas, Vol.
I.[permanent dead link]
Laws of the Republic, 1838–1845 from Gammel's Laws of Texas, Vol.
II.

The Avalon Project at Yale Law School:
TexasTexas – From Independence to
Annexation
Early Settlers and Indian Fighters of Southwest
TexasTexas by Andrew
Jackson Sowell 1900

Further reading[edit]

Hardin, Stephen L.; Wade, Mary Dodson (1998). Lone Star: The Republic
of Texas, 1836–1846. Discovery Enterprises.
ISBN 978-1-878668-63-9.
Hogan, William Ransom (2007). The
TexasTexas Republic: A Social and
Economic History.
TexasTexas State Historical Association.
ISBN 978-0-87611-220-5.
Howell, Kenneth W. and Charles Swanlund, eds. Single Star of the West:
The Republic of Texas, 1836-1845 (U of North
TexasTexas Press; 2017) 550
pages; essays by scholars on its founders, defense, diplomacy,
economy, and society, with particular attention to Tejanos,
African-Americans, American Indians, and women.
Lankevich, George J. (1979). The Presidents of the Republic of Texas:
Chronology, Documents, Bibliography. Oceana Publications.
ISBN 978-0-379-12085-1.
Weems, John Edward; Weems, Jane (1971). Dream of Empire: A Human
History of the Republic of Texas, 1836–1846. Simon and
Schuster.